Janet Cleveland

The appellant bank closed a unionized branch and merged it with a non-unionized branch.

The Canada Labour Relations Board found this constituted a sale of a business and an unfair labour practice, ordering the bank to create a $144,000 trust fund and send a Board-authored letter to all employees.

The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the Board's finding on the sale of a business, but set aside the trust fund and letter remedies, holding that they were punitive, lacked a rational connection to the unfair practice, and violated freedom of expression by compelling the bank to express opinions it did not hold.

The appellants, an employer and a union, appealed a Federal Court of Appeal decision which held that the Canada Labour Relations Board had constitutional jurisdiction to grant certification for a unit of installers.

The installers were employed by a subsidiary of a federally regulated telecommunications company and spent the vast majority of their time installing equipment on the premises of the federal undertaking.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that the Federal Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to hear the reference under the Federal Court Act.

On the merits, the Court held that the installers' work was an integral part of the operation of the federal telecommunications undertaking, and therefore their labour relations fell within federal jurisdiction.